Energy Department Launches $2.7 Billion Push to Rebuild U.S. Uranium Enrichment

In early January 2026, the US. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $2.7 billion dollar plan to strengthen domestic uranium enrichment services over the next decade, a milestone in the nation’s effort to restore a secure, homegrown nuclear fuel supply chain. 

Uranium enrichment was once a U.S. strength. Over decades of reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly following the end of domestic enrichment operations and the collapse of the Soviet-era Megatons to Megawatts program, the U.S. lost much of its capacity. Today, enriched uranium, especially high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) needed for advanced reactors, is a bottleneck in the nuclear fuel cycle. 

The DOE’s recent awards are the culmination of a multilayer policy effort: 

• 2024: DOE began contracting with nuclear fuel companies to establish a competitive enrichment capability, inviting multiple firms to qualify for future task orders. 

• 2025: These contracts laid the groundwork for milestone-based awards to expand U.S. enrichment capacity. General Metter, a startup launched in 2024 focused on LEU and HALEU production, signed a lease at the historic Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and prepared to redevelop it for modern enrichment work. 

• 2026: DOE awarded three companies, American Centrifuge Operating, General Matter, and Orano Federal Services, $900 million each under milestone-based task orders to grow domestic enrichment for both conventional LEU and HALEU. The DOE also awarded an additional $28 million to Global Laser Enrichment to continue advancing next generation uranium enrichment technology for the nuclear fuel cycle. 

The awards reflect more than funding; they represent a strategic reset for U.S. nuclear capability. By anchoring enrichment work with American firms, the DOE is rebuilding supply chains once dominated by foreign entities, supporting nuclear plants that supply carbon-free power today, and paving the way for advanced reactors of the future. 

This investment shows the integral role of the nuclear fuel supply chain in America’s energy and manufacturing future. Reliable enrichment capacity strengthens energy security, supports advanced reactor deployment, and enables electrification pathways, including those that underpin AI infrastructure, manufacturing, and high-tech industries.  

For the engineering community, this policy highlights the importance of sustained federal support for innovation, industrial capability, and workforce development across the nuclear ecosystem. ASME will continue tracking how these investments shape domestic nuclear infrastructure, manufacturing, competitiveness, and the broad energy landscape.